Joran van der Sloot to fight extradition to US
Criminal defense attorney Jonna Spilbor joins 'America Reports' to provide analysis, arguing there doesn't appear to be 'valid grounds' for van der Sloot to fight the extradition.
EXCLUSIVE: A plane with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation has landed in Lima, Peru to pick up Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, according to Peru's Interpol chief.
Van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the May 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba during a Mountain Brook High School, Alabama, senior trip.
Col. Carlos López Aeda, the chief of Interpol in Lima, Peru, told Fox News Digital that the plane left the U.S. for Lima on Wednesday morning and will take van der Sloot to the United States on Thursday morning.
According to López Aeda, van der Sloot is currently being held at the Ancón 1 Prison in Lima until he's transferred into the custody of the FBI.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT WILL LIKELY BE TRANSFERRED TO US DESPITE LAST-MINUTE EFFORTS: INTERPOL OFFICIAL
Van der Sloot leaving Challapalca Prison. (APTN)
A Peruvian court on Wednesday ordered the director of Ancón 1 Prison to notify van der Sloot of the upcoming transfer.
Maximo Altez, a lawyer for van der Sloot, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday he has filed a habeas corpus petition against the Peruvian government in an attempt to stop the transfer of his client to the United States.
The court filing by Altez says his client wasn't notified by Peruvian officials of the "temporary extradition" process that was ongoing against him, which Altez contends is a "serious constitutional violation."
Van der Sloot signing papers at Challapalca Prison. (APTN)
Joran van der Sloot doing paperwork at Challapalca Prison. (APTN)
Altez said that the Peruvian court had 24 hours from its filing to respond to the petition.
The Dutch national is being held in a Peruvian prison for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in 2010. Van der Sloot was originally sentenced to 28 years in prison for the killing, but more time was added because of a drug smuggling scandal he was involved in while in jail.
The body of Natalee Holloway hasn't been found. In January 2012, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to killing Flores. That same month, Natalee Holloway was legally declared dead.
Van der Sloot is now facing charges of extortion and wire fraud in the United States after he allegedly tried to sell Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, information regarding the location of her daughter's body.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT'S LAWYER TO FILE HABEAS CORPUS PETITION IN ATTEMPT TO STOP TRANSFER TO USA
Natalee Holloway was last seen alive in Aruba while on a Mountain Brook high school senior trip. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Federal prosecutors say van der Sloot asked for $250,000 — $25,000 upfront for the information and the rest to be paid out when the body of Natalee Holloway was positively identified.
However, van der Sloot lied to Beth Holloway's lawyer, John Q. Kelly, about where her daughter's remains were located, according to American prosecutors.
Beth Holloway, mother of Natalee Holloway, speaks during the opening of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center (NHRC) at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, June 8, 2010. Natalee, 18, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, vanished while on a high school graduation trip to Dutch-owned Aruba, an island in the Caribbean in 2005. She never showed up for a flight home and her disappearance made international headlines. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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In an earlier statement when the Peruvian court announced the transfer of van der Sloot, Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, said this gives a chance for justice to finally be served.
"I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years. She would be 36 years old now," Beth Holloway said. "It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee."
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